Self-disintegrating bag



1967 w. D. GARLAND SELFDISINTEGRATING BAG Filed Feb. 16, 1966 24 FIG. 2

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|NVENTO WALTER D. GARLAND W,WW f

FIG. 5

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ATTORNEYS United States Patent 3,347,297 SELF-DISINTEGRATING BAG Walter D. Garland, Fort Worth, Tern, assignor to The Western Company of North America, Fort Worth, Tex., a corporation of Delaware Filed Feb. 16, 1966, Ser. No. 527,784 11 Claims. (Cl. 150-1) This invention relates to a self-disintegrating bag and more particularly to a bag having a self-disintegrating metallic seam resulting from galvanic action when subjected to a saline solution. This bag has particular application in its use as a garbage bag for disposal in salt water, such as the case of garbage to be disposed from aboard a ship, wherein it is desired that the bag disintegrate to release the parbage at a predetermined time after disposal.

It is often necessary to discharge garbage and refuse from a submarine through release hatches or other means, such as garbage release tubes or torpedo tubes, while the submarine is submerged. At the same time, however, it has been a problem to provide an effective means for disposal of garbage from submarines without disclosing the geographical position of the submarine. If the garbage and refuse is not contained within a suitable container or bag which prevents the garbage from rising to or near the surface, the garbage itself can be observed and will attract marine life and birds, which consume the garbage, so that the geographical location of the submarine can be detected. This is highly undesirable since the ability to maintain the submarine position secret is of primary importance.

It is apparent that a suitable disposable container for disposing of the ganbage must prevent the garbage from rising to the surface, at least during the time that the submarine is in the same general vicinity. In providing such a container, however, it is also desirable that the garbage eventually be released so that it is ultimately disposed of by natural causes, such as by decay and consumption by marine life and birds. The time at which the garbage is released from the container after being dumped from the submarine must be after at least a minimum time interval, however, so that the submarine, under normal proceduces, has traveled to a substantially remote location therefrom. Thus the problem is not only providing a container for garbage for being disposed from a submarine that confines the garbage for a period of time but also a container which releases the garbage at a controlled time after being ejected from the submarine.

All of the above can be stated as the object of the present invention, and in accordance therewith, the present invention provides a disposable garbage container for being ejected from a submarine which will contain the garbage for at least'a predetermined period of time to prevent the garbage from rising to the surface, and after which predetermined period of time, the container releases the garbage forultimate disposal by natural causes. In more particular, the container of the invention comprises a self-disintegrating disposable garbage bag which will disintegrate at a predetermined period of time after being subjected to a saline solution, such as salt water in the ocean. In the preferred embodiment of the invention, the disposable bag comprises a fabric wall, such as paper yarn, for example, joined along edges thereof by a seam which comprises metallic means, the latter of which sets up a galvanic action in the presence of salt water to cause disintegration of the seam.

Other objects, features and advantages of the present invention will become readily apparent from the following detailed description thereof when taken in conjunction with the appended claims and the attached drawing 3,347,297 Patented 'Oct. 17, 1967 wherein like reference numerals refer to like parts throughout the several figures, and in which:

FIGURE 1 is a perspective view of one embodiment of the invention comprising a single strip of fabric yarn joined along opposite edges thereof by a scam in a helical pattern so that the bag has an open end and a closed end;

FIGURE 2 is an enlarged, fragmentary view of the scam in the bag shown in FIGURE l illustrating the opposing edges of a knitted fabric yarn joined together by a plurality of stitches of dissimilar metal threads which set up a galvanic action in a saline solution;

FIGURE 3 is a perspective view of another embodiment of the invention wherein the bag consists of two fabric parts joined together at their opposing edges along the length of the side and bottom thereof by a seam;

FIGURE 4 is an enlarged, fragmentary view of the seam of the bag shown in FIGURE 3; and

FIGURE 5 is an enlarged, fragmentary view of another seam that can be used in conjunction with woven fabric as contrasted to a knitted fabric.

One embodiment of the disposable, self-disintegrating garbage bag of the invention is shown in FIGURE 1 and is designated generally at numeral 10, wherein this bag comprises a single strip 12 of fabric yarn joined together along its opposite edges by a seam 14 in a helical pattern. The bag has an open top 16 at one end thereof and a closed end 18 for use as a disposable garbage bag. The fabric yarn of strip 12 can be made from any one of a number of materials such as, for example, a paper yarn, although various fabrics of wool, cotton, etc. can be I used. This paperyarn can be woven or knitted as may be desirable for the particular application and as will be discussed hereinafter. One'method of forming the bag is to employ a circular knitting machine which knits a spiral strip to a tubular configuration. The seam along opposite sides of the bag can be formed during the knitting process or subsequent thereto as desired. In accordance with the objects of the invention, the garbage bag is not only disposable but self-disintegrating at a predetermined time after'being subjected to salt water. To accomplish this object, the seam of the bag at which the opposite edges of the yarn strip are joined comprises, in the preferred embodiment thereof, the combination of dissimilar metals which, when subjected to salt water, set up a galvanic action to cause a chemical corrosion reaction which causes the ultimate disintegration of at least one of the metals. Upon disintegration of one of the metals, the seam as a unit is destroyed and the bag itself comes apart.

An enlarged, fragmentary view of the seam of the bag of FIGURE 1 is shown in FIGURE 2 for purposes of illustration, wherein the fabric yarn in this particular illustration is a knitted yarn as contrasted to a woven yarn. The edges 22 and 23 of the knitted yarn, which edges are adjacent the seam in the bag, include a series of separate stitches along the lengths thereof. A first metal thread 24, such as copper, for example, is threaded in and out of the separate stitches of one edge 22 along of copper and aluminum will set up a definite galvanic action therebetween in the presence of salt water to cause a chemical corrosion or disintegration of the aluminum by chemical displacement of the aluminum. It will be readily apparent that the repetitive metal to metal contact and the overall close proximity of the aluminum and copper threads will insure galvanic action. As with any chemical reaction, the necessary time required to cause the disintegration of the aluminum thread is well known, and by the use of different gauges of the copper and aluminum threads, the disintegration time can be controlled. Other factors are involved in the disintegration time, such as the distance between the two threads, the amounts of protective coatings on the elements should such be used, and the sea water temperature and salinity. All of these fatcors can readily be calculated to provide a disposable bag which will disintegrate at time desired after being subjected to salt water electrolyte. As will be apparent from FIGURE 2, the disintegration of one of the metal wires results in the disintegration of the seam itself as a unit, this allowing the bag to separate at the edges. Upon this occurrence the garbage will float free of the bag to be ultimately disposed of by natural causes.

By way of information as to use of the bag within a submarine for the purpose of garbage disposal, the tubular bag is placed within a cylinder to form the lining thereof, and garbage is forced into the bag by a ram under pressure. The bag is then sealed at its top by any suitable means, such as by tying, for example, removed from the loading cylinder and then ejected from the submarine through any suitable hatch, such as the garbage disposal tube or a torpedo tube.

Another bag, designated generally at numeral 30, is shown in FIGURE 3 and comprises two fabric yarn parts 32 and 34 which are joined together at their edges by a seam 36 along the sides thereof and across the bottom 37. The bag is left open at the top 38 for loading the garbage. Again, any suitable yarn can be used for the two parts of the bag as discussed previously, and similarly, the seam for joining the edges of the two parts of the yarn or wall of the bag can be exactly as described with reference to FIGURE 2 and as shown in FIGURE 4, wherein the reference numerals shown in FIGURE 4 refer to the same parts as shown in FIGURE 2. In this instance, the bag is opened at the seam along its two sides and bottom after the disintegration of the metallic seam to permit the garbage to float free.

As an example of a different type yarn, a woven yarn, as contrasted to a knitted yarn can be used as shown in FIGURE 5. The same metallic seam is again used, whereby the edges of the woven yarn 50 and 52 are joined together in a plurality of separate stitches by metal threads 53 and 54, all as previously described.

Although other means can be used to provide the disintegration of the entire bag itself or the disintegration of the seam joining the edges of a fabric wall of a bag, it has been found that the time of disintegration of the bag can be accurately controlled by use of dissimilar metal threads forming a part of the seam as a result of galvanic action therebetween in the presence of salt water. It has been further found that the use of a paper yarn, whether knitted or woven, provides sufficient strength and body to withstand the loading forces when garbage is loaded into the bag within a loading cylinder by use of a ram, wherein the use of a paper yarn is desirable as being economical. The metallic seam, moreover, has sufficient strength for holding the bag together until the time of disintegration. In most instances, a knitted yarn has sufiicient strength and body, but in those cases where additional strength of the wall of the bag is needed, a woven yarn as shown in FIGURE 5 may be used.

Other modifications and substitutions that do not depart from the true scope of the invention will undoubtedly occur to those skilled in the art, and it is intended that the invention be limited only as defined in the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

1. A self-disintegrating bag, comprising:

(a) a fabric wall having first and second edges joined together along a seam, and

(b) means forming a part of said seam which disintegrates by galvanic action when subjected to a saline solution to cause the destruction of said seam.

2. A self-disintegrating bag according to claim 1 wherein said means comprises the combination of dissimilar metals which produce a galvanic action in the presence of said saline solution to effect the disintegration of at least one of said dissimilar metals.

3. A self-disintegrating bag according to claim 2 wherein said combination of dissimilar metals comprises first and second dissimilar metals attached to said first and said second edges, respectively, of said fabric wall and forming a plurality of stitches in interlaced relationship with each other.

4. A self-disintegrating bag according to claim 3 wherein said fabric wall is comprised of paper yarn, and said first and said second dissimilar metals comprise copper and aluminum, respectively.

5. A self-disintegrating bag according to claim 3 wherein said fabric wall is comprised of paper yarn, and said first and said second dissimilar metals comprise copper and aluminum threads stitched along said first and said second edges, respectively.

6. A self-disintegrating bag according to claim 1 wherein said fabric wall comprises a single strip of yarn having said first and said second edges joined together along said seam in a helical pattern.

7. A self-disintegrating bag according to claim 1 wherein said fabric wall comprises first and second parts having said first and said second edges joined together along said seam along the sides and bottom of said bag.

8. A self-disintegrating bag according to claim 1 wherein said fabric wall is non-metallic, and said means comprises a first metallic thread stitched along said first edge in a plurality of stitches and a second metallic thread dissimilar from said first thread stitched along said second edge in a plurality of stitches and interlaced along said seam with said first thread.

9. A'self-disintegrating bag, comprising:

(a) a fabric wall having first and second edges joined together along the seam and (b) a galvanic couple forming a part of said seam which disintegrates when subjected to a saline solution to cause the destruction of said seam, said means disintegrating more rapidly in a saline solution than in the presence of moisture alone.

10. A self-disintegrating bag according to claim 9 wherein said fabric wall comprises a single strip of yarn having said first and said second edges joined together along said seam in a helical pattern.

11. A self-disintegrating bag according to claim 9 wherein said fabric wall comprises first and second parts having said first and said second edges joined together along said seam along the sides and bottom of said bag.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 692,404 2/1902 Wright 22019 1,160,961 11/1915 Tirreill -1 X 1,906,500 5/1933 Twitchell 1501 2,178,611 11/1939 Scheidegger 1501 X 2,331,955 10/1943 Beebe et al. 229-62 2,600,300 6/1952 Katz 1501 X FOREIGN PATENTS 181,771 6/ 1922 Great Britain.

JOSEPH R. LECLAIR, Primaly Examiner.

FRANKLIN T. GARRETT, Examiner. 

1. A SELF-DISINTEGRATING BAG, COMPRISING: (A) A FABRIC WALL HAVING FIRST AND SECOND EDGES JOINED TOGETHER ALONG A SEAM, AND (B) MEANS FORMING A PART OF SAID SEAM WHICH DISINTEGRATES BY GALVANIC ACTION WHEN SUBJECTED TO A SALINE SOLUTION TO CAUSE THE DESTRUCTION OF SAID SEAM. 